공동체와 양육

Power of Peace (Eph 2:11-22)

2010.05.16Rev. Mike Lee

Christ's death brings peace that reshapes our relationship with God's kingdom, God's family, and God's church. Because He has broken down the walls that divided us, we can be reconciled to God and to one another.

Peace with God can transform a life

Forrest Gump's friend Lieutenant Dan, bitter and angry after losing his legs in the war, finally made his peace with God after a storm. Such a scene reminds us that a life can be transformed by God's peace. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes the peace that Christ's death brings. He shows us that this peace affects three areas of our lives: God's kingdom, God's family, and God's church. Let us look at each of these in turn.

Once far off, now brought near to God (11-13)

Paul calls his readers to remember what they were before they met Christ: separated from Christ, alienated from Israel, strangers to the covenants, without hope and without God. The Gentiles were kept in the outermost court of the temple, and signs warned that death would come to any Gentile who went further. Yet in Christ Jesus, those who were far off have been brought near by his blood. We were outsiders, but now we are citizens of God's kingdom through the one mediator who has done what we could never do ourselves. Remembering where we came from helps us to be thankful.

Christ himself is our peace (14-18)

Christ himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and broken down the dividing wall of hostility in his flesh. The word peace appears four times in these verses, and the word one also appears four times, which shows that God wants us to see harmony and unity among his people. Yet we so easily look at differences, hold grudges, and build walls between ourselves. Christ came to tear those walls down, so that through him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit. Since he has reconciled us, we cannot keep building walls against our brothers and sisters.

A church built on the Word and on Christ (19-22)

Paul describes the church as a building in which believers are joined together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Its foundation is the teaching of the apostles and prophets, so the church must rest on the Word of God rather than on the opinions of any preacher. Christ Jesus is the cornerstone that holds the whole structure steady, and each believer is a building block set into it. Therefore we should ask whether we truly love this church, and whether we are building it up or tearing it down.

Apply to Life

  • Let us examine our relationships and seek reconciliation with anyone against whom we have harbored bitterness before the day ends.
  • Let us take the first step and say I am sorry to those we have hurt or who have something against us.
  • Let us remember where Christ has brought us from and give thanks for the grace that brought us near.
  • Let us stop criticizing the church and start loving it, building it up on the Word of God with Christ as its cornerstone.
  • Let us bring our anger and bitterness before God in prayer and make peace with him today.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

← 영어 예배(English Service) 목록